The video of Philippines divers John Elmerson Fabriga and John David Pahoyo diving fail at SEA Games has resurfaced after being mistaken for 2024 Olympics
The world’s best athletes are naturally taking the sports headlines with the Summer Olympics 2024 in full swing. However, two Philippine divers have also captured global attention, even though they’re not competing in Paris.
For the unfamiliar, recently social media platforms especially X and TikTok is buzzing with a video of two Philippine divers. The 2015 video of the epic diving flops by Philippine athletes is from the Singapore Southeast Asian Games and not from the 2024 Paris Olympics as is being claimed.
Old video of John Elmerson Fabriga and John David Pahoyo diving fail at SEA Games resurfaces after being mistaken for 2024 Olympics
It quickly went viral, drawing the attention of numerous websites worldwide. Numerous media outlets picked up the video, to the comic delight of their readers.
Identity of the Philippine Divers
The viral video features John Elmerson Fabriga and John David Pahoyo, both landing awkwardly on their backs after they attempt their dives, earning them a score of zero from the judges.
After their awkward dive, both men tried to laugh off their blunders. Pahoyo even commented on the video, which has racked up over 1.6 million views on a Facebook page.
“I even laughed at myself after I did this dive,” he said, tagging his teammate Fabriga. “I am still proud because not all of us have the privilege to represent our own country at such a big sporting event like this.
“And by the way, can I ask all of you if you can still smile after getting embarrassed in front of thousands of people?”
In a reply the 17yr old, John Elmerson Fabriga said: "I even laughed at myself after I did this dive hehe.
"But after all this was not the first time I failed a dive, and I was not the first one who did so. And I am still proud because not all of us has the privilege to… pic.twitter.com/TAmzlsfQAa
— Vinnie ❌ (@SapereVincent) July 29, 2024
However, clearly not everyone was laughing, especially Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia as earlier he reportedly said that he wants an explanation from aquatics chief Mark Joseph.
Garcia said in his statement that he will “give the opportunity for the Philippine Swimming Inc. president to explain,” while adding that he fought for these two “divers to come here and compete.”
Amidst the mix of mockery and good-natured ribbing, media outlets have shown support for both Fabriga and Pahoyo, calling the Filipino divers ‘total class acts’ for how they handled the embarrassing situation.
He really earned a 'ZERO' for this dive pic.twitter.com/xx3xhhbvPk
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) July 29, 2024
They also highlighted how the divers redeemed themselves in the synchronized diving event two days after their botched individual dives in Singapore.
Just a week after the videos first went viral, Fabriga told reporters that they took all the ridicule in stride, saying nerves got the better of him. Still, it did not dampen his spirits but instead motivated him to train harder for future competitions.